Tim Ritchey, who trains Afleet Alex, had clammed up for the past couple of weeks when asked about his horse. Once one of the most promising colts on the Kentucky Derby trail, Afleet Alex had gotten some bad ink after a disappointing run in the Rebel Stakes. There were rumors that his reported lung infection was made up, that he just wasn’t the horse we’d thought him to be.

On the Wednesday before Saturday’s Grade II Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, Ritchey said: “I’m not really interested in talking. I’ve been misquoted so many times, I’m just going to train my horse and run my horse.” He ran the horse, and the horse ran away with it.

On the final weekend of important Derby prep races – the Blue Grass Stakes also featured several big horses – Afleet Alex proved himself one of the best. With Jeremy Rose up, the horse powered off to take the $1 million race by 8 lengths.

Batson Challenge set the first two fractions out front but sunk to the back of the pack, as Canteen briefly got his head in front. Flower Alley had been running along in contention, three wide behind Canteen; when Afleet Alex ranged up on Flower Alley, running four paths out from the rail, Flower Alley tried to go with him. But Afleet Alex would have no company. He had a 5 1/2 -length lead by the time he hit the stretch.

It was a very good race for the first two horses. Flower Alley ran in deeper company and brought a new kind of race to the track, proving that he could run a sensible race up near the pace, and make a good try for it coming home.

For Afleet Alex and Tim Ritchey, it was utter redemption. The horse’s reputation this year has been like a yo-yo. We wanted the world from him after a juvenile year in which he notched four wins and two places in six starts. When he first went to the gate as a 3-year-old in the March 5 Mountain Valley Stakes at Oaklawn, he won the race like a pro, notching a 106 Beyer figure. It was a short 6-furlong race, but he galloped out his seventh furlong, after the finish line, like he was still racing, and it was clocked at 13 1/5 – blazing for a horse that’s already won the race, and certainly evidence that the 6 furlongs hadn’t tired him.

Then came the Rebel Stakes on March 19. He started out looking good, only to shut down at the 3/16 pole. He ended up last by over 12 lengths, coming home like he was running with bricks for shoes. Considering those glimpses of the 3-year-old Afleet Alex, it’s no wonder his status was shaky. The question in Arkansas was not only whether he could run two turns, but which horse would show up? The good one did.

The disappointment in Arkansas was Greater Good. He had been undefeated around two turns, sweeping the same series of Oaklawn Park races – the February 19 Southwest Stakes and the March 19 Rebel – that Smarty Jones had won last year. In the Arkansas Derby, though, he simply didn’t go, and finished fifth.

We got good lessons in Kentucky, too, in the 81st running of the Grade I, $750,000, Blue Grass Stakes. This was a deep field. Four of the top five horses on the Daily Racing Form’s “Derby Watch” went to the gate, and the other three horses in the race weren’t exactly chopped liver.

Todd Pletcher’s Bandini proved the best. The horse missed the April 2 Florida Derby with a bruised foot, and on this Derby trail, any time lost training or any change of schedule is something to worry about. But that didn’t matter in the Blue Grass.

Spanish Chestnut grabbed the lead like a rabbit, but he couldn’t hold on and faltered with a quarter-mile left. High Limit and Bandini had been running behind him in the second and third positions, and they took the lead. High Limit stuck to his position, and even had a head in front for a moment, but he ended up no match for the winner. Bandini hit the stretch under strong “encouragement” as they say (John Velasquez had the whip on him).

Those two horses are looking very good heading to Kentucky. Bandini needed a stakes win, and he couldn’t have asked for a bigger one. High Limit needed to learn to run behind horses, and he did fine considering that he’d never seen anything but open track in front of him.

The big disappointment was Sun King. The former Derby favorite ran a weird race, out as much as eight wide at times. He settled badly in the back of the pack, and when he tried to go, he didn’t get anywhere. The question was whether or not he could compete with elite competition, and the answer seems to be no.

Most of the cards have been dealt. Some questions (does Afleet Alex bounce after a good race? How much on the improve is Flower Alley?) will not be answered until the Run for the Roses. Others, such as what’s going on with Rockport Harbor, will be answered in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland next week. But we’re getting a good picture of what we’ve got to look forward to, and it’s looking exciting.